ExpressCard finally shows up

Just what we need, another card format. With new and smaller flash card formats seeming to pop up
almost daily, it seemed
inevitable that the venerable PC Card would get a revamp. After all, the standard's been around since 1990, and most
other PC technologies have improved quite a bit since then. The new format, the ExpressCard, was agreed upon a couple
of years ago, but it's taken until now for it to finally make its way to the marketplace. The format is about half the
size and significantly faster than the original (its interface is PCI Express or USB 2.0, rather than PCI). Vendors are
apparently lining up to produce ExpressCard-based Bluetooth adapters, FireWire ports and other peripherals. We would've
preferred something smaller that's already in widespread use, like
SDIO, but ExpressCard is a done deal,
so we'd better just shut up and get used to it.